Foldable sawhorse

ABSTRACT

A foldable sawhorse including a crossbeam, hinge members rotatably mounted on each side of the crossbeam and near each end thereof, support legs hingedly secured to said hinge members, first brace means hingedly affixed to said support legs for attachment to another support leg to hold in spaced apart relation and second brace means hingedly affixed to said support legs for attachment to said crossbeam to hold the support legs in a fixed position in angular relationship to said crossbeam. The said hinge members rotatably mounted on each side of the crossbeam enable the support legs hingedly secured thereto to be rotated and moved to a position substantially parallel with said crossbeam when the first brace means are detached from corresponding support legs and the second brace means are detached from the crossbeam, the hinged brace means also being foldable to a position substantially parallel to said support legs and to said crossbeam. The entire assembly when the brace means are detached may thus be folded into a compact unit with the support legs and brace means being substantially in parallel relationship with and in close proximity to the crossbeam for easily carrying and storing in a compact space little larger than the size and configuration of the crossbeam itself.

llnited States Patent Wilton C. Weser 2541 Church Street, Des Plaines, 111. 60016 [21] Appl. No. 68,397

[22] Filed Aug. 31, 1970 [45] Patented Jan. 11, 1972 [72] Inventor [54] FOLDABLE SAWHORSE 7 Claims, 9 Drawing Figs.

s2 U.S. c1 182/155 511 1111.01 ....Fl6m 11/00 50 Field of Search 182/155,

Primary E.raminerReinaldo P. Machado AtIorney-Emest S. Kettelson ABSTRACT: A foldable sawhorse including a crossbeam, hinge members rotatably mounted on each side of the crossbeam and near each end thereof, support legs hingedly secured to said hinge members, first brace means hingedly affixed to said support legs for attachment to another support leg to hold in spaced apart relation and second brace means hingedly affixed to said support legs for attachment to said crossbeam to hold the support legs in a fixed position in angular relationship to said crossbeam. The said hinge members rotatably mounted on each side of the crossbeam enable the support legs hingedly secured thereto to be rotated and moved to a position substantially parallel with said crossbeam when the first brace means are detached from corresponding support legs and the second brace means are detached from the crossbeam, the hinged brace means also being foldable to a position substantially parallel to said support legs and to said crossbeam. The entire assembly when the brace means are detached may thus be folded into a compact unit with the Support legs and brace means being substantially in parallel relationship with and in close proximity to the crossbeam for easi- 1y carrying and storing in a compact space little larger than the size and configuration of the crossbeam itself.

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WILTON C. WESE R 2 mam ATTORNEY FOLDABLE SAWl-IORSE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a foldable sawhorse which includes hinge members rotatably mounted on each side of a crossbeam and near each end thereof to which support legs are hingedly affixed with appropriate brace means to hold the support legs firmly in fixed position when assembled for use. The said hinge members rotatably mounted as said on the crossbeam enable rotation of the support legs from a normally angular or diagonal position when assembled for use to a substantially parallel position with respect to sad crossbeam when disassembled for carrying or storing. In other known devices of this nature the support legs extend outwardly from the crossbar diagonally even when folded unless the support legs are completely removed from the crossbeam. Thus more space is required for such devices, they are more awkward to carry, and the diagonally extending legs are more likely to hit and scratch or otherwise damage a wall, a window, other items, or even fellow workers than the foldable sawhorse of this invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A foldable sawhorse which includes hinge members rotatably mounted on each side of a crossbeam and near each end thereof, support legs hingedly attached thereto for movement from a folded position to a working position and brace means to hold said support legs in working position.

It is an object of this invention to provide a foldable sawhorse to enable easy and convenient carriage and storage, as well as quick assembly to a rigid working position and quick disassembly for folding to a position for carrying and storing.

It is another object of this invention to provide hinge members rotatably mounted on each side of a crossbeam and near end thereof, for hingedly securing support legs to said rotatably mounted hinge members.

It is another object of this invention to provide brace means hingedly and detachably secured between one support leg and another support leg, and between one or more support legs and the crossbeam, such brace means being easily and quickly detachable for folding on its hinged connection.

Further objects of this invention will be obvious in light of the following more detailed description of this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a foldable sawhorse according to the invention shown in assembled position for use.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a pivot post for use in this invention, a portion of a support leg, and a bolt used to provide a hinged connection between the pivot post and a corresponding support leg in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view showing the foldable sawhorse of this invention partially disassembled.

FIG. 4 na top plan view of a foldable sawhorse in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view showing the foldable sawhorse according to this invention in folded, disassembled position with one bar member and portions of other bar members shown in phantom by broken lines.

FIG. 6 is an end elevation view of a foldable sawhorse according to this invention shown in assembled position for use.

FIG. 7 is an end elevation view of the foldable sawhorse in FIG. 6 shown in partially disassembled position.

FIG. 8 is a view of a bolt and two nuts used to provide hinged connection between a support leg and one bracing bar and at the same time detachable connection between the same support leg and another bracing bar used in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 9 is an end elevation view of a portion of this invention showing the connection of sleeve members to the crossbeam in accordance with this invention, and pivot posts positioned within said sleeve members.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings in detail, the foldable sawhorse of this invention is indicated generally by the numeral 1. It includes a crossbeam 2 which extends substantially horizontal when assembled for use. A pair of sleeve members 3 are mounted near each end of said crossbeam and on each side thereof, each pair being equidistant from the respective ends of the crossbeam on which they are mounted. The sleeve members 3 are preferably mounted at a slight angle along each side of said crossbeam, such angle being obtuse with respect to the upper portion of the midsection of the crossbeam and acute with respect to the lower portion of the midsection of said crossbeam. Pivot posts 4 are rotatably mounted within each of said sleeve members 3, each of said pivot posts having hinge means 5 near the edge 6 of the respective sides of the said crossbeam when mounted within said sleeve members 3, as shown in FIG. 1. The pivot posts 4 are rotatably mounted within the sleeve members 3 so as to prevent longitudinal movement with respect to said sleeve members, such as by abutment means 7 and 8 on said pivot posts 4, abutment means 7 bearing against the upper end of sleeve member 3 and abutment means 8 bearing against the lower end of sleeve member 3. Upper abutment means 7 may consist of a setscrew as shown, or two or more setscrews, for removal from pivot post 4 to enable withdrawal from sleeve member 3 if desired. Lower abutment means 8 may consist of a collar as shown, welded or otherwise secured to pivot post 4. Spacing sections 28 as shown in FIG. 9 may be affixed between crossbeam 2 to permit rotation of collar 8 welded or otherwise secured to pivot post 4, as well as to provide clearance for the heads of setscrews 7 when pivot post 4 is rotated.

Support legs 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d are hingedly attached to respective pivot posts 4 at said hinge means 5. Said hinge means may be of any conventional type, such as matching holes 19 near the ends of the pivot posts 4 and support legs 9 with a rivet or bolt 20 therethrough to permit hinged movement. The direction of hinged movement depends on the position to which pivot post 4 is rotated.

A first bracing means includes a bar member 10, hingedly attached to a first support leg 9a and detachably secured to a second support leg 9b which extends from the same end but from the opposite side of the crossbeam 2. When so secured, bar member 10 extends substantially horizontal when assembled in place for use and holds said two support legs 9a and 9b in spaced-apart relationship extending diagonally from said crossbeam 2 at substantially the same angle with respect to each opposite side of crossbeam 2. Said first bracing means also includes a bar member 11, hingedly attached to the said second support leg 9b and detachably secured to said first support leg 9a. Bar member 11 extends between said first and second support legs 9a and 9b at a diagonal when assembled in place for use and provides additional bracing support. The said bar members 10 and 11 may be detachably secured by any conventional known means to the support legs 9a and 9b opposite that to which each is hingedly attached, such as by holes 21 near the attaching ends of bar members 10 and l] which cooperate and mate with holes 22 or other receiving means in or in association with said respective support legs 9a and 9b through which bolts 23 may be received and tightened with wing nuts 24 or the like. The belt 23 extending through hole 22 in receiving means 25 on support leg 9b may include an additional nut 26 between the bolt head and wing nut 24, to hingedly secure bar member 11 to leg 9b for folding there against without removal from leg 9b. The hole 21 in the detachable end of bar member 10 may then be positioned on bolt 23 between said nut 26 and said wing nut 24 for detachable connection to support leg 9b.

Said first bracing means comprising bar members 10 and II as described above for one end of the crossbeam 2, includes identical bar members 10 and 11 arranged and secured in the same manner with respect to the third and fourth support legs 9c and 9d at the other end of crossbeam 2 and extending from opposite sides thereof in the same manner as described with reference to the said first and second support legs 9a and 9b.

A second bracing means is provided, including bar members 12, 13, 14 and 15. Bar members 12 and 13 are hingedly attached, one to each of the aforesaid first and second support legs 9a and 9b which extend from the same end but from opposite sides of the crossbeam 2, at approximately midpoint on said legs as indicated at 16 in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4. Bar members 12 and 13 are detachably secured to respective opposite sides of crossbeam 2, at approximately midpoint between the respective ends of said crossbeam, and by any conventional well-known means. Such may include holes 27 as shown in FIG. 3 near the attaching ends of bar members 12, 13, I4 and 15, a bolt 17 extending through both sides of said crossbeam 2 at said midpoint position, said holes 27 in the attaching ends of respective bar members 12, 13, 14 and receiving the bolt 17 therethrough, bar members 12 and 14 on one side of crossbeam 2, and bar members 13 and 15 on the opposite side of said crossbeam. Wing nuts 18 are provided for tightening said bar members 12, 13, 14 and 15 against the respective opposite sides of said crossmember 2.

Bar members 14 and 15 are respectively hingedly attached to the aforesaid third and forth support legs designated as 9:: and 9d in FIG. 4 which extend from the other end of crossbeam 2 on opposite sides thereof as described with reference to the said first and second support legs 9a and 9b. When assembled for use, bar member 12 and bar member 14 are positioned on bolt 17 on one side of crossbeam 2; bar member 13 and bar member 15 are positioned on bolt 17 on the other side of crossbeam 2. The wing nuts 18 are then placed on each opposite end of bolt 17 and tightened, thereby drawing the attaching ends of bar members 12 and 14 securely against one side of crossbeam 2 and bar members 13 and 15 securely againstthe opposite side of crossbeam 2.

The length of each bar member 12, 13, 14 and 15 is equal and long enough to position support legs 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d slightly diagonally and at the same angles with respect to the longitudinal extent of crossbeam 2. The said angles thus described are acute angles between the support legs 9 and respective ends of the lower portion of crossbeam 2 near which said respective support legs 9 are positioned as shown in the drawings. Between the support legs 9 and toward the midsection of the lower portion of crossbeam 2, the angles formed are therefore obtuse. The support legs 9 hingedly attached to pivot posts 4 may extend at such angles from the crossbeam by positioning the sleeves 3 at such angles as described above, so the pivot posts 4 received within the sleeve members 3 are in alignment with the respective support legs 9 extending therefrom when the bar members 12, 13, 14 and 15 are connected to the crossbeam 2 as described above.

The foldable sawhorse according to this invention is thereby assembled for use. To disassemble, wing nuts 18 are removed from bolt 17 and bar members 12, 13, 14 and 15 removed from said bolt permitting the detachably secured ends to drop to the ground or other surface and thence folded against the support leg to which each is respectively attached. The detachably secured ends of bar members 10 and 11 are similarly detached, whereupon they may be folded against the support leg to which they are respectively attached.

The aforementioned first and second support legs 9a and 9b at one end are then moved together on their respective hinged connections with rotatable pivot posts 4. Rotatable pivot posts 4 are turned through an arc of 90 from their position when assembled for use to permit hinged movement of said support legs 9a and 9b in a direction longitudinal of crossbeam 2. When assembled for use, rotatable pivot posts 4 are positioned to permit hinged movement of said support legs in a direction lateral of crossbeam 2.

Support legs 9a and 9b are then moved on their respective hinges in said longitudinal direction until they are substantially parallel to crossbeam 2 and closely adjacent thereto. The same procedure is followed with respect to support legs 90 and 9d at the other end of crossbeam 2.

Bar members 10, ll, 12, 13, 14 and 15 are moved on their respective hinged connections on support legs 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d into substantially parallel relationship with and adjacent to said support legs, thereupon bringing the entire folded unit into substantially parallel relationship with crossbeam 2 and closely adjacent thereto.

FIG. 5 shows one side of the sawhorse in folded position, with support legs 9a and 9c folded into substantially parallel relationship with crossbeam 2 and adjacent thereto. Bar member 11 is shown folded against and adjacent to support leg 90 to which it is hingedly attached. Bar member 10 hingedly attached to support leg 9a is shown in phantom by broken lines extending upwardly for clarity of illustration, but in reality it is folded against and adjacent to support leg 90 and would be blocked from view in such position by bar member 11. Bar member 12 is shown in FIG. 5 partially in phantom by broken lines folded against support leg 9a to which it is hingedly attached thus being substantially parallel thereto as well as to crossbeam 2. Bar member 14 is also shown in FIG. 5 partially in phantom by broken lines folded against support leg 90 to which it is hingedly attached, substantially parallel thereto as well as to crossbeam 2.

The opposite side of crossbeam 2 with support legs 9b and 9d near each end thereof, and their respective bar members hingedly attached thereto are similarly folded into substantially parallel and adjacent relationship and would appear as shown in FIG. 5 with respect to the side of the crossbeam 2 on which support legs 9a and 9c are mounted.

The particular form of the invention described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings is a preferred embodiment, and various changes in the size, shape, materials and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the attached claims.

Having thus set forth my invention, what I claim is:

1. A foldable sawhorse comprising a crossbeam, rotatable means mounted thereon, support legs attached to said rotatable means, and bracing means for attachment between said support legs and said crossbeam to hold said foldable sawhorse in rigid working position when assembled for use, wherein said rotatable means includes a sleeve member mounted on said crossbeam, a pivot post rotatably inserted in said sleeve member, and hinge means associated with said pivot post and said support leg for hinged connection of said support leg to said pivot post.

2. A foldable sawhorse comprising a crossbeam, rotatable means mounted thereon, support legs attached to said rotatable mean, and bracing means for attachment between said support legs and said crossbeam to hold said foldable sawhorse in rigid working position when assembled for use, wherein said bracing means includes bar members, hinge means associated with one end of each of said bar members and one support leg for hinged connection of each of said bar members to one of said support legs, detachable connecting means associated with the other end of each of said bar members, said bracing means including first and second bracing means, the detachable connecting means associated with one end of said bar members in said first bracing means being associated with cooperating detachable connecting means on a support leg other than the support leg to which said bar member is hingedly connected, the detachable connecting means associated with one end of said bar members in said second bracing means being associated with cooperating detachable connecting means on said crossbeam.

3. A foldable sawhorse as set forth in claim 2, wherein said hinge means associated with one end of each of said bar members and one support leg includes cooperating holes and pivot members therethrough positioned to enable hinged movement of each of said bar members into substantially parallel and adjacent relationship with said support legs to which each of said bar members is respectively and hingedly attached, said rotatable means to which said support legs are attached including means to enable movement of said support legs into substantially parallel and adjacent relationship to each other support leg and to said crossbeam, thus enabling said bar members of said bracing means and said support legs all to be moved into substantially parallel and adjacent relationship with said cross beam when folded for carrying and storage.

4. A foldable sawhorse as set forth in claim 3, wherein said rotatable means to which said support legs are attached includes a sleeve member mounted on said crossbeam, a pivot post rotatably inserted in said sleeve member, hinge means associated with one end of said pivot post and one end of said support leg for hinged connection therebetween, said hinge means so associated including cooperating holes and pivot members therethrough positioned to enable hinged movement of said support leg in one direction, said pivot post being rotatable thus enabling rotation of the said hinge means associated with said pivot post and said support leg to enable changing the direction of hinged movement of said support leg including hinged movement of said support leg in a direction lateral to said crossbeam and in a direction longitudinal to said crossbeam.

5. A foldable sawhorse as set forth in claim 4, wherein one pair of said rotatable means are mounted on opposite sides of said crossbeam near one end thereof and a second pair of said rotatable means are mounted on opposite sides of said crossbeam near the other end thereof, one support leg being hingedly connected to each of said rotatable means thus positioning a first pair of support legs near one end of said crossbeam and on opposite sides thereof and a second pair of support legs near the other end of said crossbeam and on opposite sides thereof, said first bracing means including bar members detachably connected between said first pair of support legs to hold them in spaced apart relationship to each other and in a laterally diagonal relationship with said crossbeam when connected, like bar members detachably connected between said second pair of support legs to hold them in like relationship to each other and to said crossbeam when connected, said second bracing means including a bar member detachably connected between each of said support legs and said crossbeam to hold each of said support legs in angular relationship to said crossbeam when connected.

6. A foldable sawhorse as set forth in claim 5, wherein said first bracing means includes a bar member between each of said pair of support legs which when connected extends substantially horizontal to a plane surface on which said sawhorse is positioned for use and a bar member between each of said pair of support legs which extends at an angle to said plane surface when connected.

7. A foldable sawhorse as set forth in claim 5, wherein said second bracing means includes bar members of equal length, said bar members being detachably connectable to said crossbeam midpoint thereon, said bar members being of a length to position said respective pairs of support legs when connected in an acute angular relationship with the portion of the lower edge of said crossbeam between the mounting points of each of said respective pairs of support legs on said crossbeam. 

1. A foldable sawhorse comprising a crossbeam, rotatable means mounted thereon, support legs attached to said rotatable means, and bracing means for attachment between said support legs and said crossbeam to hold said foldable sawhorse in rigid working position when assembled for use, wherein said rotatable means includes a sleeve member mounted on said crossbeam, a pivot post rotatably inserted in said sleeve member, and hinge means associated with said pivot post and said support leg for hinged connection of said support leg to said pivot post.
 2. A foldable sawhorse comprising a crossbeam, rotatable means mounted thereon, support legs attached to said rotatable mean, and bracing means for attachment between said support legs and said crossbeam to hold said foldable sawhorse in rigid working position when assembled for use, wherein said bracing means includes bar members, hinge means associated with one end of each of said bar members and one support leg for hinged connection of each of said bar members to one of said support legs, detachable connecting means associated with the other end of each of said bar members, said bracing means including first and second bracing means, the detachable connecting means associated with one end of said bar members in said first bracing means being associated with cooperating detachable connecting means on a support leg other than the support leg to which said bar member is hingedly connected, the detachable connecting means associated with one end of said bar members in said second bracing means being associated with cooperating detachable connecting means on said crossbeam.
 3. A foldable sawhorse as set forth in claim 2, wherein said hinge means associated with one end of each of said bar members and one support leg includes cooperating holes and pivot members therethrough positioned to enable hinged movement of each of said bar members into substantially parallel and adjacent relationship with said support legs to which each of said bar members is respectively and hingedly attached, said rotatable means to which said support legs are attached including means to enable movement of said support legs into substantially parallel and adjacent relationship to each other support leg and to said crossbeam, thus enabling said bar members of said bracing means and said support legs all to be moved into substantially parallel and adjacent relationship with said cross beam when folded for carrying and storage.
 4. A foldable sawhorse as set forth in claim 3, wherein said rotatable means to which said support legs are attached includes a sleeve member mounted on said crossbeam, a pivot post rotatably inserted in said sleeve member, hinge means associated with one end of said pivot post and one end of said support leg for hinged connection therebetween, said hinge means so associated including cooperating holes and pivot members therethrough positioned to enable hinged movement of said support leg in one direction, said pivot post being rotatable thus enabling rotation of the said hinge means associated with said pivot post and said support leg to enable changing the direction of hinged movement of said support leg including hinged movement of said support leg in a direction lateral to said crossbeam and in a direction longitudinal to said crossbeam.
 5. A foldable sawhorse as set forth in claim 4, wherein one pair of said rotatable means are mounted on opposite sides of said crossbeam near one end thereof and a second pair of said rotatable means are mounted on opposite sides of said crossbeam near the other end thereof, one support leg being hingedly connected to each of said rotatable means thus positioning a first pair of support legs near one end oF said crossbeam and on opposite sides thereof and a second pair of support legs near the other end of said crossbeam and on opposite sides thereof, said first bracing means including bar members detachably connected between said first pair of support legs to hold them in spaced apart relationship to each other and in a laterally diagonal relationship with said crossbeam when connected, like bar members detachably connected between said second pair of support legs to hold them in like relationship to each other and to said crossbeam when connected, said second bracing means including a bar member detachably connected between each of said support legs and said crossbeam to hold each of said support legs in angular relationship to said crossbeam when connected.
 6. A foldable sawhorse as set forth in claim 5, wherein said first bracing means includes a bar member between each of said pair of support legs which when connected extends substantially horizontal to a plane surface on which said sawhorse is positioned for use and a bar member between each of said pair of support legs which extends at an angle to said plane surface when connected.
 7. A foldable sawhorse as set forth in claim 5, wherein said second bracing means includes bar members of equal length, said bar members being detachably connectable to said crossbeam midpoint thereon, said bar members being of a length to position said respective pairs of support legs when connected in an acute angular relationship with the portion of the lower edge of said crossbeam between the mounting points of each of said respective pairs of support legs on said crossbeam. 